Emmy Nominations 2012: American Horror Story, Mad Men and Modern Family Lead the Pack

Nominations for the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards were announced early Thursday morning by Scandal star Kerry Washington and this year’s Emmys host, Jimmy Kimmel — in his pajamas — and FX’s American Horror Story and AMC’s Mad Men led the pack with 17 total nods each.

PBS’ Downton Abbey and History’s Hatfields & McCoys followed with 16 apiece, while Modern Family was the most-nommed scripted comedy series, with 14.

Showtime’s Homeland amassed the most nominations (nine) for a freshman series, while Jon Hamm, Melissa McCarthy, Lena Dunham (as a star, director and writer of Girls) and Amy Poehler (as Parks and Rec actress and for penning an episode) are among those who netted multiple nods.

Here is the list of the nominees who were revealed on TV, to be updated imminently with the full roster of contenders in major races. Your job, as fellow TV enthusiasts, is to hit the comments with unchecked euphoria… or utter outrage. (It’s the Internet, so we’re conservatively predicting at least 60 percent “outrage.”)

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Louis C.K., Louie
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men (*his first time in Lead race in years)
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Ed O’Neill, Modern Family
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Max Greenfield, New Girl
Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live

OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW HOST
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars
Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance
Phil Keoghan, The Amazing Race
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol
Betty White, Betty White’s Off Their Rockers

OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW COMPETITIONThe Amazing Race
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Top Chef
The Voice

OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIESThe Colbert Report The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Jimmy Kimmel Live Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Real Time With Bill Maher Saturday Night Live

LEAD ACTRESS IN A TV MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Connie Britton, American Horror Story
Ashley Judd, Missing (*which was eligible as a miniseries)
Nicole Kidman, Hemingway and Gellhorn
Julianne Moore, Game Change
Emma Thompson, The Song of Lunch

Whoever picks the nominees is a complete moron. Why is 30 Rock always nominated & not Parks & Rec or Community? I don’t think 30 Rock is nearly as clever or funny as those 2. Most of the shows listed are crap.

Put The Good Wife in Boardwalk Empire’s place and they have the perfect list for drama series. I love Downton Abbey but all those actors? Bates over Will Gardner? Hugh Bonneville over Hugh Laurie? Anna the maid over the excellent Cersei from Game of Thrones? The only two acting nominations Downton deserved were Maggie Smith and Michelle Dockery. This is way too much love.
Yay for Amy Farrah Fowler making the cut. She is so funny!

Jason Isaacs was ROBBED for “Awake!” C’mon, people – can’t we shake the lead actor category up just this once instead of going to our standard list of people who get nominated every year (whether they deserve it or not)?

Looks like they’re nominating Breaking Bad’s previous season. Which I’m fine with, I wish they weren’t so strict with air dates last year, though. If there’s one person I’m fine with beating out Aaron Paul, it’s Giancarlo Esposito. Too much Modern Family, though. They all do a fine job on that show, but nothing this past season really struck me as a particularly noteworthy performance. I found the cast of Suburgatory more worthy of Emmy love. Guess that show’s the new Parks and Rec when it comes to award season.

This is the only change I would support for the Emmys: One person per show, per category can be nominated and that’s it when it comes to the individual acting noms. The people that vote for the nomniations should be forced to pick the best actor on each show and not just nominate 4 of them and take up almost an entire category.

Why is there no Revenge?! That is an outstanding show with an awesome cast…there is not any variety in these nominations and lots of snubs 3evenge should have been in the mix. Also Sandra Oh is snubbed every year for Greys Anatomy.

How can they snub Michael Pitt, Justified and Sons of Anarchy? I don´t understand the flood of nominations for Downton Abbey. It´s not bad but by far not as great as it is said (especially the 2nd season).

Michael Pity and Sons of Anarchy and cast are what surprises me as well. Pity was outstanding last season on Boardwalk Empire but because he has a bad rap I’m guessing he’s easy to ignore. Probably the same goes with Kurt Sitter and that trickled to his cast. Sucks but nothing we get to do about it.

No Parks and Rec in the Comedy race?! Are you kidding me?? If Amy Poehler doesn’t win….
Also, I love me some Downton just like the next person, but I feel like some of the noms are a little much. I realize Grey’s isn’t a show on “cirtics” radar anymore, but Sandra Oh once again got screwed.
And Modern Family is/was good, but no longer SO great that it warrents every one of their actors a nomination.
Don’t get me started on Kathy Bates… (who, I think is fantastic. but for Harry’s Law – AGAIN – really???)

Parks and Rec isn’t nominated for Outstanding Comedy?!! Raising Hope & Happy Endings were completely snubbed?! (except it was nice to see Martha Plimpton nominated for her Guest appearance on The Good Wife) NO FRINGE?!, but I’m used to that. And did Jessica Lange get any noms? They’d be crazy not to nominate her

It’s time to seperate Network vs. Cable shows….it’s ridiculous how many shows above are from Cable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They take the spots for our beloved shows, Parks and Rec, Community, Happy Endings, Once Upon a Time, Revenge etc. Just peeved, once again I am not going to be watching the show, could care less since the “Academy” is blind and has no real grasp on what Emmy worthy is :( sad, sad, sad